China – first steps

After relaxing on the beaches of Vietnam we were more than ready for the glittery metropolis of Hong Kong, especially as we were greeted by Catharine, Sam and Patrick at the airport. For the second time of our journey we didn’t have to worry about how to get into town, where to stay, how much things are supposed to cost. We stayed with our friends and even got a really great home cooked meal. After almost 3 months of fried noodles and fried rice this was a most welcome change.

At the next day Catharine and Patrick showed us the delicious secrets of Dim Sum and took us to see the big Buddha on Lantau Island. In the afternoon we discovered down town Hong Kong by ourselves. Due to the excellent tips from Sam and Cathy it was a piece of cake.

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Hong Kong Island lived up to all our expectations about sky scrapers, very trendy boutiques and hectic businessmen. But we have also seen the small Chinese shops, the old double-decker tram and the footstalls. This combination of tradition and fantastic new high rises makes the special feel of Hong Kong for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t spent enough time in this vibrant city, but we would love to come back.

We are now in Beijing, but we will go to Pingyao by night train to see the lantern festival which marks the end of the Chinese New Year in this region. After that we will travel to Xi’an. We have not decided on the further stops on our way to Shanghai – so any advice is more than welcome.

We will keep you posted on the differences between Indian and Chinese trains as well as our other adventures in China as soon as possible…